Results for Pacific Islands

The skulls of two Tongan ancestors, collected in the Pacific in the 19th Century, and repatriated to Tonga by the Australian Museum this week, were given a respectful traditional burial on ‘Eua Island in the presence of King Tupou VI and members of the Royal Family on January 10. The funeral conducted by the royal undertakers, the Nima Tapu (sacred hands), at Kolomaile, ‘Eua, was attended by descendants of the ‘Ata people, some of them coming from abroad. The funeral tributes touched upon painful memories of the loss of half of the ‘Ata population to Australian blackbirders in 1863. The surviving population of ‘Ata was relocated to ‘Eua by Tupou I.

Illegal dumping of waste increased on Tongatapu when the Waste Authority closed during the holidays, causing many complaints circling around social media of rubbish bags that were dumped on the roadside.

A well-known Fiji entrepreneur, Mr. Yanktesh Permal (Y.P.) Reddy, O.B.E, chairman of the board and owner of the Tanoa Group, died in New Zealand on 4 January, at the age of 89 years.

The best performing schools for the Tonga National Form Seven Certificate (TNFSC) 2023 exams were Niuatoputapu High School and Niuafo‘ou High School, who both achieved a passing rate of 100%, the Prime Minister Hon. Hu'akavameiliku said today.

Travellers to and from the outer islands are relying heavily on the inter-island ferries MV ‘Otuanga’ofa and MV Taka-i-Pomana this holiday season, to travel between Tongatapu, Vava'u, and Ha'apai, after a disruption to the domestic air services on 8 December, when the  Lulutai Airlines Saab 340 aircraft was damaged while taxing after landing at Fua'amotu Airport.

Over 100 VHF digital portable transceivers were set up for Tonga Police, by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), through Tonga-Australia Policing Partnership (TAPP), to build the radio communication network capability of Tonga Police.

An escaped prisoner Vaha Afemeimo’unga, was arrested at about 7:00 am today, 29 December, by His Majesty’s Prisons officers, at Fatai, Tongatapu, after being on the run for three days.

Three community-based aged care centers will be built in Tongatapu with one in Vava'u, under a new USD $16.18 million project signed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Tonga Integrated Aged Care Project will help provide safe, high-quality integrated health and care services for older people and their caregivers.

The last cruise ship for the Port of Nuku'alofa for 2023, the SV AIDAsol docked at Vuna Wharf, at 8:00am this morning, after departing Rarotonga, Cook Islands.